The album was recorded at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London between 1995 and 1996, by producers Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard, and the production duo Absolute. The album is a pop record with an inclusion of styles such as dance, R&B and hip hop. It is considered to be the record that brought teen pop back, opening the doors for a wave of teen pop artists. Conceptually, the album centered on the idea of Girl Power, and during that time was compared to Beatlemania.
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Spice was a huge worldwide commercial success. The album peaked at #1 in more than 17 countries across the world and was certified multi-platinum in 27 countries, platinum in 14 countries and Gold in 3 countries. It became the world's top-selling album of 1997 selling 19 million copies in over a year. In the United States, Spice peaked at #1 in the Billboard 200 for 5 weeks and sold 1,46 million in the first 12 weeks. In total the album sold 30 million copies worldwide, becoming the biggest-selling album in music history by a girl group and one of the most successful albums of all time.
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5 singles were released from the album. The 1st single, "Wannabe", became a worldwide success went to #1 in 31 countries, one of the best-selling singles of all time and selling over 6 million copies worldwide. The next two singles, "Say You'll Be There" and "2 Become 1", reached #1 in 53 countries. "Who Do You Think You Are" was released as the official Comic Relief single in the UK as a double A-side with "Mama" and both songs reached the top 20 in charts across Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In the band's native UK, all 4 singles went to #1 on the UK singles chart and, in the Billboard Hot 100, the album produced three top 5 singles
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Allmusic's reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album "immaculately crafted pop" that is "infectious" and "irresistible", adding that "Spice doesn't need to be original to be entertaining" and that "none of the girls have great voices, but they do exude personality and charisma". Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly called the album a "devilishly good pop collection", and said that the lead single "Wannabe" is "perky yet tough, catchy yet melodically surprising". LAUNCHcast's Dev Sherlock called the album "pure upbeat ear candy" and that it was "one of the most fun and exciting pop releases of the year", adding that their Girl Power philosophy is "a well-balanced manifesto for young women everywhere that is neither twee nor riot grrrl-angry".